Harness-terret.



PATENTED MAR. '8, 1904.

J. G. WAY.

l HARNESS TERRBT. l APPLICATION-FILED JULY 12. 1902.

N0 MODEL.

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No. vslinvv'.

UNITED -STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GILL WAY, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

HARNESS-TERRET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 754,177, dated March 8, 1904. Application filed July 12, 1902. Serial No. 115.384. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern: I

Be it known that I, J OHN GILL WAY, a subject of the King of England, residing at the city of Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness-Terrets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the terrets or rings upon the back-pad of harnesses through which the reins are usually introduced by putting one end through the same and then pulling through the slack rein; and the objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a terret in which the rein may be introduced without the inconvenience of putting one end through and pulling the balance after, as is customary, and, second, to provide a terretin which the rein may be inserted in said terret and removed therefrom at any portion of said rein and without unbuckling said reins, further objects and advantages being, apparent from the following description.

In the drawings forming a part of this specication like numerals of` reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a terret having my improvements thereon. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a terret having my improvements thereon. Fig. 3 is a detail viewvof another form of spring which may be employed therein. Fig. Llshows a ring having my improvements on the side thereof and which said form is adapted for use also as a check-hook.

In the construction of-my said improved terret the lower portions of the sides 1 and 2 form acircular ring upon their inner surfaces and at the bottom have a threaded post to screw into the back-pad or other suitable means for attaching them to the back-pad. Near the upper ends of said sides at 3 and l are formed internally-projecting bosses which continue the circular conformation of the inner s urfaces of said 1 and 2 and also perform the further offices hereinafter specified. Above the said bosses the said sides are preferably curved outward, as shown, to form the ears 6 and 7, which improve the general symmetrical appearance of the said terrets and also serve as guides to direct and guide the reins into the said opening in the terrets between said .of the inner surface of said completed terret.

The left-hand yend thereof in the drawings is disconnected from the side 1, and the boss 3 on said side 1 is recessed to permit the point of said tongue 8 to pass within said recess more than its thickness, and the sides of the said recess serve asl guards to prevent the rein from rubbing against the end of said tongue or in any manner catching upon it and accidentally opening said tongue. At the'right-hand end of said tongue the tongueis enlarged to form the hub 9, with the extension 13 beneath said hub for engagement with the spring 11. The boss 4 on said side of said terret is recessed to receive said tongue, and both said boss and said tongue are bored to receive the pin 10, which'connects said tongue to said boss 4 by the hinge or pivot joint, as shown. Beneath the said boss 4 the side 2 is recessed on its inner surface to receive the fiat spring 11, which is attached thereto at the lower-end by means of a rivet 12 or other suitable means. The tendency of said spring is to throw the upper end outward, and thus press the end 13 of said tongue outward and the opposite end of said tongue upward into the recess in boss 3. Back ofthe end 13 of said tongue the side 2 is further recessed to permit the said end 13 to move backward when the end 14 is pressed downward to insert the line. This recess is formed with a shoulder at 15, and whenever the end 13 is pressed backward beyond a prescribed distance the spring 11 is' bent shortly v over said shoulder 15 and tends to press the tongueback to its normal position with much greater force than the spring is capable of eX- erting when the strain extends over its entire length. It is desirable that the internal surface of the terret shall be smooth and free from edges or pointed surfaces that might wear or injure the reins, and to this end I. have recessed all of the said parts and made the internal surfaces of said terret smooth and rounding. In lieu of the spring 11 a coiled spring similar to that shown in Fig. 3 may be employed, in which construction the hub of the tongue would be slotted and the spring, as 16,

IOO

be inserted within said slot and around the pin 10, with one end, as 17, pressing upward 'against the under surface of said tongue to close it and the reverse end 18 pressing against the inner surface of said side 2.

To adapt said improvement to the checkhook, the opening is placed upon the side, as shown in Fig. 4, instead of at the top, as in Fig. 1, the remaining construction thereof being the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

To insert the rein within the said terret, the operation is as follows: i The edge of said rein is pressed downward against said tongue at 14 until it springs downward a sufficient distance to permit said rein to pass through the opening and within said terret. To remove the rein from said terret, the end 14 of said tongue is pressed downward until it permits the passage of said rein through the opening between said tongue and the side 1 of said terret. Whenever the pressure upon said tongue is released, the pressure of the' spring 11, acting upon the end 13 of said tongue, forces said end 14 upward to its normal position, with the point resting in the recess in the boss 3, thus closing said terret from being opened accidentally by the line from within, as practically no pressure or position of the line within said terret is capable of opening the said terret and allowing the line to pass out therefrom accidentally. In the same manner the checkrein is insertedwithin the check-hook (shown 'in Fig# 4) by pressing the loop or ring upon the end of said checkrein against the end 14 of said tongue until it is opened far enough to permit the checkrein to pass within said hook, when the pressure 4of the spring 11 immediately closes said opening and there is no opportunity for said checkrein to become in any manner accidentally disengaged from said hook.

It will thus be seen vthat my said improvements provide a very great and added convenience in harnessing and unharnessing horses, because the rein may be inserted or removed at any portion thereof that is contiguous to said terret without slipping the entire length thereof through said ring, and the said reins may be inserted within said terrets and removed therefrom Without unbuckling them. The said terrets will also add considerably to the neat appearance by reason of their neat and symmetrical appearance and by reason of the upward-extending curved ends 6 and 7, which may be made to resemble ornamental horns. It will also be seen that the additional advantage for check-hooks of having the checkrein held against accidental unhooking will be a great added convenience and im provement, especially with horses who have a habit of throwing the head back until the checkrein is unhooked from the check-hooks in ordinary use.

Having thus described my said invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

A harness-terret comprising semicircular side members terminating short of each other at their free ends, each free end terminating in oppositely disposed, inwardly directed pairs ofprojections and an outwardly-curved, elongated extension, the extension of each member being curved outwardlyin opposite direction to its companion extension to admit of the free insertion of a rein, a tongue bridging the side members and pivotally mounted in one pair of said projections, said tongue having an extension, a groove formed in one of the side members, said groove being of uneven depth forming a shoulder intermediate its length, and a spring lying within the groove and contacting with 'the extension of the tongue, said spring being brought into contact with said shoulder upon depression of the tongue, whereby the latter is forced upwardly and held normally inl engagement with the pair of projections opposite its pivotal point. h In1 witness whereof I have hereunto set my JOHN GILL l/VAY.`

Witnessesz' CHESTER W. BROWN, C. E. BROWN. 

